House of Sand
by foxxywinter
Summary: They say when you become a mother you start wearing your heart outside of your body. #TyzulaTuesday drabbles.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: I'm usually a smut writer so I'm not sure why this wholesome plot bunny grabbed me. There might be a few mature references so that's why it's K+, but altogether this is Azula and Ty Lee plus a little girl, and the rest of the royal family crew.**

 **.**

 **/1/ palace**

 **.**

Anka struggled against Azula's tight grip as she tried to run out onto the sand.

"Beaches are dangerous," said Princess Azula, which her four-year-old daughter, Anka, did not seem to care much about. Ty Lee always had to try not to laugh when Azula attempted to control a little girl who was _far_ too much like her to be tamed or leashed. "Beaches. Are. Dangerous. You are to stay with me at all times."

Azula pulled the wriggling Anka up into her arms before stepping out onto the sand. It was so hot that it stung Ty Lee's feet as she followed, but Azula would not have been affected by stepping on coals, much less miniature hot stones.

Ty Lee sat down in the sunlight, basking in it. She closed her eyes, which she knew would make Azula livid. Still, Ty Lee was married to her now and knew she could push boundaries slightly, but if Azula told her off for it, she would listen.

That was why she watched Azula smother Anka from afar and bit her tongue.

She did not like telling Azula she was being horrifically irrational, and in fact, never had, but she had never been so tempted until this vacation.

"Anka can make a sand palace or something, okay?" Ty Lee said, batting her eyelashes as if that would work. Azula continued to hold the child, whom had given up on escaping by this point. "She'll sit at our feet and she definitely won't be eaten up by the ocean and die."

"I don't trust oceans. They are made of water," Azula replied. Ty Lee did not laugh, because she was scared enough of Azula to avoid doing _that_ , but she could not suppress a soft, exasperated sigh. "What? You want me to just set this little tornado town and expect her _not_ to run out into the sea?"

"I think that when I was little, I learned by making mistakes and getting hurt. She hasn't even gotten a papercut before and so the minute you can't hold her down, she is going to do stupid stuff like break her bones and get pregnant out of wedlock or conquer cities or…"

"No one held me down when I was little," Azula snapped.

"You have the world's most overbearing father. He wouldn't let you do anything fun. If he weren't behind bars we wouldn't even be married because he'd just lock you in your room forever," Ty Lee said. "Oh! And I would sneak in and have… and _kiss_ you because you were sheltered and wanted to get back at him."

"Go back to playing dumb for a while," Azula snarled out of the corner of her mouth. "I married you because you obeyed me and didn't question my judgment."

All the same, she set down Anka, sighed, and helped her daughter make a castle of sand.

Ty Lee _did_ notice Azula holding Anka's free hand down at all times, but it was progress.

Maybe she should stand up to her wife more often.


	2. Chapter 2

**.**

 **/2/ dress-up**

 **.**

"But the only reason to have a kid is to dress them up," Ty Lee whined, tapping her foot impatiently.

Azula was very tired. She never expected that she would have to deal with _two_ Ty Lee's taking ten years to get ready for the day. It was not even a special event; they were going for a short walk to the gorgeous park on the outskirts of Caldera.

Of course, Ty Lee would go through a thousand outfits before she could settle on one, and Azula was almost reaching the point where she could find it tolerable. Then Anka came along and Azula had a thousand _more_ outfits to stare blankly at and give rehearsed responses to.

At the moment, they both looked dreadful and tacky. Azula once was embarrassed to be seen in public with Ty Lee and her pink and their dressed-up daughter, but she reached a point at which she stopped caring. By now, she even easily lied and said that the outfits were _adorable_.

"It's nice," said Azula, wanting to kill both of them and then herself.

Truly, it was a wonder that anyone survived being in her presence for more than an hour. Ty Lee and Anka tended to be exceptions, but not when they had to get _dressed_.

"You are always right, princess, but I think this scarf makes me look weird," Ty Lee said.

Now Azula really was about to just throttle her, but she restrained herself. She let her wife dig into their gigantic closet again to find a different scarf. Azula did not know Ty Lee even had that many.

"Anka," said Azula, grabbing her daughter and setting her on her lap, "you look perfect. So help me, I think your outfit is wonderful and I will never let your mom make you change."

Her outfit was terrible, but Azula was not going to endure another second of this torture. Did Zuko not _outlaw_ this type of thing? This _had_ to count as worse than ripping people's fingernails out.

When Ty Lee wailed and changed her scarf again, Azula would happily take having her fingernails ripped out over this.

Finally, Azula grabbed Ty Lee by the scruff of her neck and directed her wife and daughter at the door.

"I believe you look perfect and what I believe is right and we are leaving before I burn every article of clothing you own," Azula snarled, squeezing Anka closely to her and forcing Ty Lee through the door.

Ty Lee glanced over her shoulder, forlorn, but knew Azula was not exaggerating when she said she would burn all of her clothes.

Azula _had_ done that before. Thrice.

Ty Lee would not risk it.


	3. Chapter 3

**.**

 **/3/ graveyard**

 **.**

"I saw a mass grave!" chirped Anka on her first night home from Ba Sing Se. Her mothers just stared. "What's a mass grave?"

Now her mothers exchanged a glance.

"Azula, this is your job," Ty Lee hastily said.

"No, no, no, it absolutely is not. My _uncle_ was the one who took a six year old child on the historical _war crime_ tour and also _probably_ killed one hundred percent of the people in those mass graves and _you_ were the one who said she should go with Zuko and Izumi to stay with my uncle and any other mass graves are forty percent your fault."

"Forty percent my fault?"

"Well, yes; I am generously giving you and Mai both forty percent."

"Eighty percent?"

"I had no idea you could do mathematics that fast. Good job, love."

"And who has the other twenty percent?"

"Well, I give the Dai Li six, my father one and myself three."

"I think you have like ninety percent responsibility for Ba Sing Se."

"No, no I don't." Azula crossed her arms. "I really just told everyone what to do and it is _their fault_ for blindly following orders. One fourth of the orders were my father's, which is why he gets one."

" _Three percent?_ You give yourself _three percent_ responsibility for conquering Ba Sing Se? You gave yourself one hundred percent after it happened!"

"No, I gave myself one hundred percent credit for making the highly successful _plan_. Which was three percent of the conquest itself, but the most important three percent."

"So, I have to explain genocide to my child because I'm _forty percent_ responsible for babysitting a _bear_."

"That one counts as fifty percent. You also did terribly at that, so you can explain to Anka why we don't have pets while you're at it."

Ty Lee scowled, sniffed in, and turned to Anka.

"Mass graves are where a lot of bodies are buried when people do horrible things, like your Uncle Iroh. He completely sieged Ba Sing Se for like years, and a lot of people died and he didn't give them proper funeral rights." Ty Lee sat down. "That's what a mass grave is."

Anka smiled and nodded.

Azula smirked, trying to keep her laughter silent.


	4. Chapter 4

**.**

 **/4/ Blizzard**

 **.**

"I _told_ you that this trip was a _horrible_ idea," snarled Azula.

Anka did not seem to care much, her face pressed up against the window to look closer at the blinding white flurries of snow. Ty Lee closed her eyes and tried to summon the energy to deal with her wife. Being perfect and subservient is really hard when she is locked in a tiny shack on Kyoshi Island with Azula and Anka during a blizzard.

"I just thought that Anka should see this important part of my past."

"Important," sardonically remarked Azula, rolling her eyes.

Ty Lee sometimes daydreamed about choking her to death, but she loved her, and so she gathered what optimism she had left.

"It's going to be a really cute and cuddly family evening," Ty Lee chimed, walking over and picking up Anka. The child's eyes never left the snow; it was the first time she had seen even a small snowfall, much less the whiteout outside. "Don't you want to have a cute and cuddly family evening?"

 _Yes_ , Azula thought but she had a reputation and could not say that aloud.

"If you insist, I will suffer through it," said Azula, sitting back down on the rickety furniture.

In the morning, she was going to burn this tinderbox to the ground.


	5. Chapter 5

**.**

 **/5/ Hopeless Situation**

 **.**

Azula could not get out of spending three nights and four days with her wife's family. She was sitting on the porch of the vacation home that was far too crowded with Anka on her lap.

"There are a lot of kids," Anka whined, resting her head on Azula's shoulder. "I don't like them."

"I know," Azula said, petting her hair.

"I like Izumi," Anka replied. "B-but I thought you said that parents can only have one kid."

Azula grimaced. "I lied. In _our family_ parents can only have one child. Siblings are messy when it comes to royalty."

Ty Lee approached from behind. "This is our family too," she said, gently and humbly in the presence of her beautiful princess but sternly enough that her little baby princess would respect her.

"But I don't like them!" Anka exclaimed, clinging tighter to Azula.

"This is torturing our child. I think we should leave early," Azula said. "We might have a dual mental breakdown."

"I think we might have a triple mental breakdown but I need my family to know how much better than them I am. I'm a princess and my gorgeous child with such pretty golden eyes is second in line for the throne. What are _they_? Nothing. Their kids aren't in line for anything but misery."

Azula looked up, patting Anka on her head. "Can you imagine if we had two of her?"

"It would be a nightmare," Ty Lee said, sitting down beside her wife and daughter. "It's so good your family doesn't have twins in their blood."

"We probably murdered that trait out," Azula said. "Our last set of twins killed each other off in the same fight. That was almost two centuries ago. As I told Anka, it is foolish to even have more than one child in my family, much less _twins_."

"What if we did?" Ty Lee already laughed without hearing Azula's answer.

"It would be a hopeless situation. I imagine we would both go mad and kill ourselves after the first dual tantrum." Azula glanced over her shoulder. "We _could_ give one of them away."

"No situation is hopeless with your mind," Ty Lee said, smiling.

"I am very clever." Azula winked.

Ty Lee smiled. Anka kept complaining.


	6. Chapter 6

**.**

 **/6/ Be Good**

 **.**

"Be _good_!" Azula snarled. Her commanding ferocity would have anyone on their knees or in tears except for the defiant child breaking every rule she could. Said child was standing in front of her mother with her arms crossed. "Do you not understand how to be good?"

"No. Explain it to me," snapped Anka. She did not even _care_ that Azula glared at her with the fire of five suns exploding at the same time.

"You are going to—"

"You're going to clean your room, and then you're going to apologize to Aunt Mai, and then you're going to go to sleep," said Ty Lee, intruding on Azula's magnificent display of parenting.

"No," said Anka.

Ty Lee held up five fingers and started counting down. "One… two… three… four…"

Anka scurried to do as she was told. Azula turned to Ty Lee with a sour expression.

"You better be good too," snapped the princess.

Ty Lee nodded demurely, but as soon as Azula walked away she smiled to herself.


	7. Chapter 7

**.**

 **/7/ Pouting**

 **.**

"Azula, don't look at her, please," begged Ty Lee, widening her eyes like a pleading puppy. She gently held Azula's wrists and rubbed them with her thumbs. "Please don't look at her."

Princess Azula would not allow her wife to speak to her that way. She shook herself free and turned around, Ty Lee's pleas be damned. Anka sat, her legs crossed, pouting with her eyes filled up with crocodile tears. They glistened and Azula felt her heart begin to bleed.

"We are royalty. It could not hurt to give her the toy," Azula stated, which was _just_ what Ty Lee was afraid of. "Ty Lee, I think it would be for the best."

"But she needs to learn self-control," whispered Ty Lee, toying with the hem of her dress.

"Royalty does not need self-control," Azula coldly stated, glaring at Ty Lee.

Ty Lee shrank several sizes from fear. She knew that Azula would team up with Anka because she wore her heart outside of her body since her baby was born. Ty Lee had far more stamina when it came to their daughter and she could withstand the manipulative pouting.

"Yeah!" Anka chimed in, jumping up and clinging to Azula's waist.

Azula picked up her daughter.

"Time to go to the toy store," purred the elder princess, touching her daughter's nose.

Anka smirked at Ty Lee as they walked away.


	8. Chapter 8

**.**

 **/8/ Pretty Girl**

 **.**

"Am I pretty, mother?" asked Anka, standing in the middle of the palace's living quarters. Azula looked up at her, then back down at her work.

"I don't think that's something that matters," dismissively said the older princess.

Anka melodramatically wailed, "So you don't think I'm pretty?"

"I think the part of you that thinks that is important is a part of you that you should not give any energy to." Azula offered an encouraging smile that mostly came off as condescending and cruel.

Anka screeched, tiny fists clenched, "That's not an answer!"

"I am your mother and I am not _required_ to give you an answer!"

Unlike most any sane person in the world, Anka did not recoil, flinch or cower. She just glared, lower jaw jutting out defiantly.

"I'm prettier than you!" argued Anka and Azula just scoffed, ego untouched.

"I am widely regarded to be the most beautiful woman alive."

Anka sobbed falsely. "You think I'm ugly!"

"I didn't say—"s

It was too late; Anka ran off crying. Ty Lee sighed from the doorway and Azula simply gave her a daring look.

"Why are you so mean? It's not hard to just tell her that she's a very pretty girl."

"She is. But I am trying to be a parent, not a groupie."

" _Azula_."

"And what am I supposed to do, Ty Lee? Make her turn out as insecure and desperate for attention as _you_?"

"Azula," whined Ty Lee, hands on her hips, pouting.

The princess sighed. "Fine. I'll go talk to her."

Ty Lee beamed as Azula stood up, huffed and pursued their daughter.


	9. Chapter 9

**.**

 **/9/ Past Midnight**

 **.**

Anka was eager beyond eager to stay up so far past her bedtime. She kept bouncing and spinning. It put the adults rather on edge.

It was the Fire Nation New Year. Fireworks galore, candy, thrills, chills, sying awake until sunrise to witness its fiery, wrathful power on the first day of the new year.

This was the first year in which Anka was allowed to participate. She was seven now, and before then her parents had enough control over the child to force her into bed and go get drunk on cinnamon alcohol with their pseudo-friends (see: people Ty Lee loved and Azula tolerated).

It was Anka's favorite holiday. Once upon a time Azula loved it too, but becoming a parent led her to cherish going to sleep early in the evening.

"Mother," pleaded Anka, tugging on Azula's sleeve, "can me and Izumi play with the fireworks in the backyard?"

"Firebenders never play with fireworks. We are better than that," Azula attempted, hoping it would deter the child from recklessness.

Unfortunately, she was not successful.

"Ooo, you're right. We can burn _way_ more stuff with firebending!" Anka beamed. Even though she was not related to Ty Lee, she somehow had her smile. Azula supposed it was learned.

Anka started to run away but Azula seized her by the scruff of her neck like a mama cat grabbing a naughty kitten.

"You are _not_ burning anything. You are staying with myself and your mama tonight, under close supervision. I do not trust children who are staying up past midnight." When Anka scowled, Azula added, "I was a child once. I know what you are thinking and it is _bad_. Come on. We have to make an appearance in the ballroom before we can leave early."

Azula grabbed Anka by the hand and took off to find Ty Lee.

When she finally did, Ty Lee kissed her and walked into the ballroom celebration with all of the most important people in the Fire Nation celebrating with bright lights and raging flames. The sounds and sighs were overwhelming to the adults, but Anka smiled brightly as she saw what she never had seen before; a glimpse of her future as a princess.

Azula watched Anka while Ty Lee went and acted as social as possible. Mai drifted to Azula, breaking free of Zuko and the swarm of people eager to get their moment with the Fire Lord.

"I hate being royalty," admitted Mai.

Anka piped up, stopping spinning beneath the radiant lights for a moment. "I love it!"

"Then you can take my place and pretend to be Fire Lady for the day."

"Incestuous. That sounds extremely incestuous," Azula snapped.

Mai half-laughed. Anka squinted.

"What does incestuous mean?"

Azula ordered, "Ask your Aunt."

Mai retorted, "Ask your Uncle."

"Okay." Anka smiled. Azula fought a war with her lips to hold back a laugh at what was absolutely coming for her brother latetr.

Ty Lee approached after some time. She looked at Azula and stood with her for a few moments before she sighed and became bored.

"Azula, at… at social events like these it's… customary to dance with… loved ones. Will you, uh, dance with me?" Ty Lee blinked twice.

"I am watching your child. She is up past midnight and I refuse to trust her."

"Azula," prodded Mai dryly.

"No!" Azula paused. "And I do not need to the women in my life ganging up on me!"

"Azula, dance with her," demanded Mai casually.

"No!"

"Come on," Mai said.

"Ugh. Fine." Azula grabbed Ty Lee by the waist and became nauseous quite quickly trying to watch Anka while dancing with her wife.

Ty Lee kissed Azula as Anka ran off to find Zuko and Izumi.

They had a few moments together before the sky became slightly tinted pink.

Another year together.

That did not sound half bad.


	10. Chapter 10

**.**

 **/10/ Powerful**

 **.**

Anka jumped up onto the table, faltering slightly as her feet left the chair.

"Mwahaha. I am the most powerful firebender who ever lived!"

Azula tried her best to hold back a smirk. Ty Lee gently elbowed her as they watch Izumi clamber up.

"Babysitting for Mai and Zuko isn't as bad as I thought it would be," whispered Ty Lee.

"We probably should not be telling them to play on the table."

"Why?"

Ty Lee's question is answered when Anka shoves Izumi off of the table.

Thud.

Both Azula and Ty Lee leapt to their feet in unison. Azula grabbed Anka fiercely. Ty Lee rushed to tend to Izumi's scraped knee and bumped head as she moaned.

"With power comes responsibility," hissed Azula to her daughter.

And Anka just smirked,

 _Smirked_.

"She's really your child, isn't she?" whispered Ty Lee.

"Shut up!" snapped Azula.

Ty Lee obeyed but shook with silent giggles nonetheless.


	11. Chapter 11

**.**

 **/11/ Baby Shower**

 **.**

"Oh, Azula, come on! Just because you're not the pregnant one doesn't mean you don't get to play too." Ty Lee beamed.

"I am forbidding this."

"Azula!"

"I forbid it!"

"Please, please, please…" Ty Lee batted her eyelashes.

"You only get less and less scared of me with time," complained Azula. "It is exhausting."

Mai held back a smile as she handed Azula a rather round red pillow.

Azula made cold, threatening, loathing eye contact as she slowly slipped it under her shirt.

She glowered at Mai as she strode into the center of the nightmarish event called a baby shower.


	12. Chapter 12

**.**

 **/12/ Soap**

 **.**

"What if she drowns?" Azula asks, clutching her daughter Anka more tightly to her chest.

Princesses Azula and Ty Lee, as well as Fire Lord Zuko, stand in a bathroom filled with more gold than an Earth Kingdom treasury. It is time for Anka's second ever bath, the first being immediately after her birth. And Azula will not let her go, but also will not let anyone perform this task for her.

Zuko laughs rather derisively. "She isn't going to drown in the bath," he snapped. Ty Lee shoved him gently.

She angrily chirps in the tone of a mouse being poked repeatedly with a tongue depressor stick, "Your sister is mentally ill. Be nice to her."

"Ignoring that," snarled Azula, "I am only concerned about being the best parent that ever parented in the history of all parents."

"If you're afraid to bathe her that might be an obstacle in the way of that conquest," Zuko said. Azula glared. Ty Lee rubbed the arm of her wife as comfortingly as she could.

"I fear nothing!" Azula shouted and Anka began to wail. Ty Lee snatched her away from Azula, pouting.

"You cried when I first clipped her nails."

"She did not like it, Ty Lee. I was defending my child. That makes me a better parent than you!" Azula shouts, before stepping forward, grabbing Anka from Ty Lee and setting her in the water without undressing her. "Ty Lee, put the soap on her!" she orders as Anka cries in confusion.

Zuko just watches the madness unfold, uncertain what on Earth to do.


	13. Chapter 13

**DYSFUNCTIONAL**

Azula screeched like a madwoman while Ty Lee tightly clutched a squalling golden-eyed baby to her chest, "It's her first birthday! I insist on it being perfect!"

"She's not even going to remember it," grumbled Zuko, tired of this already.

"Yes, but I am going to remember it! This better be perfect. And when I say perfect, I mean perfect." Azula steeled her expression. No one dared cross her when she wore that look on her beautiful face.

"Ty Lee," said Mai dryly, "control your woman, please."

"I have no control over her," whispered Ty Lee.

"We honestly have to be the most dysfunctional family I've ever known," Mai said with a long, exaggerated sigh. The only thing she ever did show interest in was showing lack of interest.

"We'll make the birthday perfect, I promise," said Ty Lee, while Mai and Zuko exchanged a weary glance. "I'll do everything in my power to make it something you love to remember, princess, because I love you."

Mai feigned gagging. Zuko furrowed his brow. Azula looked rather smug.

"Good. Now make Anka stop crying and all of you get to work."


	14. Chapter 14

**BLOOD**

Sitting in the palace courtyard with her wife and daughter, Ty Lee leaned over the pond and quacked like a turtleduck.

The birds barely even ruffled their feathers in response.

"That was bad," said Anka.

"Why was it bad?" Ty Lee pouted.

"You need more quacktice." Anka giggled. Ty Lee giggled. Azula sighed.

"I cannot believe that my blood runs through her veins."

"Because you're better at speaking turtleduck."

Azula leaned in close, her hot breath kissing Ty Lee's face.

"Because I am above speaking turtleduck. But I expect no less from a woman who dreamed as high as rolling around in the dirt with the other circus freaks."

Anka wailed in disapproval.

Azula shook her head. "You could not make me quack if you tried, blood of my blood."

The affectionate name was teasing this time. She wanted to make it clear that Anka was Zuko's, and even though she was technically Azula's daughter in every other way, they shared blood, not a direct lineage, direct motherhood. Anka and Ty Lee thought it was sweet. Azula only used it when she wanted to create distance.

This time, at least, it wasn't for a dark reason.

It was just making fun of her wife and daughter without them knowing.

And then Anka made a face. The face.

Azula turned to Ty Lee. "The things I do for love."

Ty Lee smiled brightly as she watched this beautiful, sexy woman lean down and quack at a turtleduck.

The moment she stopped, Ty Lee jumped up and kissed her.

Their passionate kiss only broke because Anka started throwing rocks at the turtleducks and they had to stop her.


End file.
